177: New Year's Eve

Wang Xiaoyi was someone who rarely expressed emotions and desires; she was accustomed to silence and passivity.

This was the first time she had blurted out her inner thoughts. Her words were stammering, and her expression was a bit evasive.

But Lin You understood her meaning. At this moment, it wasn't about love; she was probably... just a little lonely.

Lin You smiled, "Xiao Yi, you're not calling me because you're afraid of disturbing Sister Wen Chun and Xu Sisi, are you?"

"I'm not... I didn't... You're talking nonsense. Sister Wen Chun is on night shift, but I just finished messaging Sisi."

Wang Xiaoyi was clearly a bit anxious. Although Xu Sisi and Lin You were both good friends, the place good friends held in one's heart was different.

Lin You's status was very, very high. Although Xu Sisi's status was also very high, Lin You's was even higher, now only slightly below Sister Wen Chun.

Because... he was also very handsome.

Tease the punching bag Wang Xiaoyi today (completed).

Wang Xiaoyi in the video seemed to be wearing clothes in the hallway. Lin You looked at her gradually brightening little face and suddenly felt a desire to see her.

"Xiao Yi, are you going home tomorrow?"

Wang Xiaoyi shook her head, "No, I'm not going home. The round trip costs a lot of travel expenses. I'll be studying at school for all three days of the holiday."

"Then... now, do you want to come out and spend New Year's Eve with me?"

Wang Xiaoyi on the other end of the video thought she heard wrong. "Ah? Now? I can't get out of the dorm at night..."

"Just tell me if you want to or not?"

"Yes!"

...After telling Wang Xiaoyi to wait for his call, Lin You hung up the video and immediately dialed Class Monitor Hu Yunfei's number.

Lin You was a day student and rarely interacted with boarding students in grade 12 class 7. But Class Monitor Hu Yunfei was a boarding student, and after he joined Lin You's small circle, Lin You remembered Hu Yunfei bragging that in his grade 11 year, he had taken several male and female boarding students from the class to climb over the wall to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Ten-odd minutes later, Lin You and Wang Xinxin emerged from the internet cafe and arrived at the agreed-upon school wall.

After exchanging secret signals with Hu Yunfei across the wall, Lin You moved a shared bicycle from nearby, stepped on it, and climbed over the wall. On the other side of the wall, Hu Yunfei had placed an electric scooter. Lin You flipped over, stepped on the electric scooter, and landed easily. Wang Xinxin followed suit, and the two successfully entered the school.

"Old Hu, Old Hu, tell me, didn't you used to sneak out like this often?"

"Don't slander me! How could I, a dignified Class Monitor, do such a thing often? Just once!"

A man's 'once' meant many times.

Who knew that Hu Yunfei, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, was quite wild in private.

Inside the wall was the edge of Ancheng No. 7 Middle School's sports field, an area that was deserted both day and night.

After Wang Xinxin landed, he and Hu Yunfei introduced themselves. They had only vaguely known each other before, and today was their first proper introduction—though the setting was a bit unusual.

After the three met, they secretly made their way towards the girls' dormitory.

"Old Hu, the dorms all have access control, right? How did you get out? And how are you going to get Wang Xiaoyi out later?"

When Lin You called Hu Yunfei earlier, Hu Yunfei immediately agreed and sent Lin You the exact location outside the wall, but Lin You wasn't clear on the specific process.

Hu Yunfei pulled a key from his pocket. "Most of our school's students are quite honest, so the school isn't very strict about this. Privately, several access control keys have long been duplicated by students and secretly passed down for many years. This key of mine belonged to an older brother from my village; he was two grades ahead of us and passed it to me when he graduated."

No way, this is possible? Lin You was full of shock.

Wang Xinxin was clearly even more shocked, "You have one for the girls' dormitory too???"

Hu Yunfei quickly shook his head, "I wouldn't dare to have one for that. I know a girl who does."

Lin You immediately gave a thumbs-up. What networking ability! Truly worthy of being the Class Monitor!

Two minutes later, Hu Yunfei led Lin You and Wang Xinxin to the side door of the girls' dormitory building. The side door was already open, and a girl was standing there, "Senior Yunfei, you're finally here!"

Lin You ignored how Hu Yunfei had managed to get the Junior Female Student to help and quickly pulled out his phone to call Wang Xiaoyi. Less than two minutes later, Lin You saw Wang Xiaoyi, dressed in a down jacket and hat. Although she walked quickly, she appeared cautious, peeking around.

Lin You lowered his voice and called out, "Xiao Yi, over here!"

Hearing Lin You's voice, Wang Xiaoyi breathed a sigh of relief and scurried over. As she got closer, she saw several other people and, feeling a bit awkward, hid behind Lin You.

After successfully picking up Wang Xiaoyi, Hu Yunfei handled the Junior Female Student and then led Lin You and the other two back to the wall by the sports field.

It was definitely Wang Xiaoyi's first time climbing over a wall to leave school, but she had climbed trees in the countryside as a child, so she didn't seem unfamiliar at all. She climbed out in a few quick movements without Lin You's help, even more agile than Wang Xinxin.

This made Lin You, who was outside the wall with his arms open to catch her, feel a bit awkward.

Finally, the three stood outside the wall, said goodbye to Hu Yunfei, and walked back towards the internet cafe.

"Exciting or not?"

Wang Xiaoyi felt it was average, but still nodded cooperatively, "Exciting."

Wang Xinxin laughed the happiest, "Holy crap, we just went in and out of the school like it was nothing, completely untouched!"

Lin You chuckled, "The Security Office is nothing but a bunch of weaklings."

Wang Xiaoyi walked beside Lin You, hearing the two of them gloat, and tried hard to suppress her laughter.

Two inexperienced city dwellers, it's just climbing a wall... Have you ever been chased by chickens, ducks, geese, vicious dogs, or mad cows?

Wang Xiaoyi had been chased as a child, by vicious dogs and mad cows, and only escaped by climbing walls and trees.

Not long after, the three returned to the internet cafe before one in the morning.

Lin You had told Wang Xiaoyi to bring her ID card earlier. The silly girl hadn't been on guard at all, nor had she considered any other possibilities, and just foolishly brought her ID card out.

The three opened accounts and found a small private room for four to sit in.

After Wang Xiaoyi turned on the computer, Lin You asked her what she wanted to do, then found a video software for her. After opening it, Wang Xiaoyi started watching

Wang Xiaoyi explained, "I watched a little when I was a kid, but I didn't finish it."

Seeing Wang Xiaoyi wearing headphones, Lin You patted her head, then started a ranked game with Wang Xinxin.

About ten minutes later, with a total kill-to-death ratio of 6:29, Lin You and Wang Xinxin surrendered at fifteen minutes sharp.

Lin You turned his head and saw on Wang Xiaoyi's screen, Young Hero Hongmao, in white robes with a long sword, facing the Heavenly Wolf Gate, saying, "Since Lan Tu is dead, I have no desire to explain right from wrong!"

Lin You stopped bickering with Wang Xinxin and leaned in to watch carefully. A moment later, Wang Xinxin also came over.

The three eighteen-year-old teenagers were already engrossed in the plot.

Until Hongmao said, "...Father, please don't blame your son! Heaven and Earth Live Together!"

Hongmao sought revenge for Lan Tu, using Heaven and Earth Live Together, and Lan Tu, to save Hongmao, plunged into the light vortex, also without regard for her own safety.

Wang Xiaoyi had already started shedding tears, and Lin You and Wang Xinxin's eyes were also slightly red. The childhood memories of watching TV in front of the screen, tear-streaked, began to attack their tear ducts.

A moment later, Wang Xiaoyi finished the episode, came back to her senses, and found Lin You and Wang Xinxin huddled beside her. Her face immediately flushed red, and she quickly took out a tissue to wipe her tears.

Lin You looked up at the sky, Wang Xinxin looked down at the ground. The three awkwardly looked away, too embarrassed to admit that they were deeply moved by a childhood cartoon.

Lin You's emotions stabilized. Just as he was about to ask Wang Xiaoyi what she wanted for a late-night snack, his phone, placed beside the keyboard, vibrated.

Lin You immediately answered. Li Qingbo's voice came from the phone.

"Hurry up and come out, I'm right at the entrance of the internet cafe!"

"Okay, okay, coming right away!"

Lin You hung up the phone and quickly called Wang Xiaoyi to log off and prepare to leave.

Wang Xiaoyi was a bit confused. Weren't they supposed to stay at the internet cafe all night for New Year's Eve? Why was Li Qingbo here too? Why did they have to leave now?

As the three of them exited the internet cafe, they saw Li Qingbo opening the car door and getting out of the driver's seat of a black Mercedes-Benz SUV.

"Hello, hello, Wang Xiaoyi! Buddy, you must be Wang Xinxin? I've heard Lin You mention you before..."

Although Rich Brother wasn't familiar with Wang Xiaoyi and Wang Xinxin, he wasn't shy at all, greeting them enthusiastically from the start.

"Hello, hello! Thank you for coming out so late."

Wang Xinxin also had strong social skills. Although he wasn't familiar with Li Qingbo before, he knew about this Rich Brother from class 7.

"Hey, we're all just tools. That damn Lin You called me out in the middle of the night just to pick up a girl. Come on, get in the car!"

Lin You asked curiously, "Why didn't you bring your driver?"

"Isn't a driver a human? Drivers need to sleep too!"

Lin You quickly gave a thumbs up, "If I can't make it in the future, I'll be your driver."

"Alright, an expert with over six hundred ninety points as my driver, I can brag about that for a lifetime."

During their conversation, at Li Qingbo's call, Wang Xinxin got into the passenger seat, while Lin You and Wang Xiaoyi sat in the back.

Wang Xiaoyi was a bit nervous after getting in the car; she had never ridden in such a nice car before.

She knew Li Qingbo and Lin You were good friends, but she didn't know that Li Qingbo had long ago told the class to take care of her, nor did she know that Li Qingbo already considered her his good Buddy's girlfriend, his "sister-in-law."

Wang Xiaoyi only thought of Li Qingbo as a very rich, ordinary Classmate. She knew him, but they had almost no interaction.

Lin You noticed her nervousness and smiled, "Brother Bo is the soul of our class 7. Xiao Yi, you really should treat him as a good friend. When I told you to be confident and stand tall, you suddenly transformed from an ugly duckling into such a beautiful person. Why did it seem like the boys and girls in our class didn't pay much attention to your change? That's all because my Brother Bo silently contributed behind the scenes, using his charisma to keep the boys in class from bothering you, and ensuring the girls were all very kind to you."

Wang Xiaoyi suddenly realized. She had always thought that people in class saw her as insignificant, which was why no one noticed her change... Li Qingbo repeatedly retorted, "What charisma? Don't listen to Lin You's nonsense. I just have a few stinking coins, and they're from my family."

A warm current surged through Wang Xiaoyi's heart. She knew Li Qingbo was a good person for helping her behind the scenes, but she also knew that Li Qingbo helped her because of Lin You.

"Brother... Brother Bo, thank you!"

Li Qingbo quickly exclaimed, "Wang Xiaoyi, don't listen to Lin You's nonsense. Just call me Li Qingbo or Qingbo. I'm a high school student, not a socialite, so don't call me Brother Bo."

"Okay, Brother Bo!" Lin You chimed in with a high-pitched voice, smiling as he answered for Wang Xiaoyi.

Li Qingbo drove, and along the way, Lin You chatted with him, Wang Xinxin occasionally chimed in, and Wang Xiaoyi sat quietly in the back, gradually no longer feeling nervous.

After about ten minutes, Li Qingbo followed the navigation to the vicinity of the cross-river bridge and looked back at Lin You, "Is this it?"

Lin You opened the car window and looked out, "Yes, this is it."

Li Qingbo found a spot to park the car. After the group got out, Li Qingbo opened the trunk, and the three boys began to move box after box of fireworks out of the car.

Only then did Wang Xiaoyi realize why Li Qingbo had come in the middle of the night. She was about to go up and help, but Lin You, in his chauvinistic way, "drove" her away.

"Three men aren't missing hands or feet, what do we need a little girl for?"

Wang Xiaoyi was a bit unconvinced. She looked up at Lin You, her head held high, "I'm very strong. I can carry dozens of pounds of grain."

Lin You crooked his mouth and gestured to the other two, "Do you believe that if I let you carry it, those two would curse me to death?"

In today's society, boys just dislike 'little fairies' who don't pull their weight; they are still willing to take care of genuinely good girls.

After several trips, a total of nine boxes of fireworks were placed by the cross-river bridge, more than ten kilometers from the city center.

"This car can only hold this much, but I think it should be enough. After all, one box of fireworks lasts three minutes, so together it's half an hour."

As soon as Li Qingbo finished speaking, Lin You said, "Let's light all nine boxes at once, it'll look even better!"

Finally, Li Qingbo pulled out three lighters he had prepared in advance. The three boys lined up the fireworks, each box spaced a few meters apart, with each person responsible for three boxes.

Wang Xiaoyi stood far behind, watching Lin You and the others busy themselves. In the darkness, Lin You's voice came through.

"I'll count 3-2-1, and we'll light the first one together. The other two won't be synchronized, just light them as quickly as you can. Alright, ready to start, 3...2...1, begin!"

In the darkness, three fuses were lit, and then Lin You and the other two ran to their respective second and third boxes of fireworks.

Bang, bang, bang!

Three slender lines of fire shot straight into the night sky, and three dull yet penetrating explosions tore through the silent winter night.

The next second, several dazzling fire meteors flew high into the sky and burst open, illuminating this part of Ancheng's outskirts.

"Whoosh—Boom!"

"Whoosh whoosh—Crash!"

Bunches and clusters of fireworks soared into the night sky and bloomed.

The nine boxes of fireworks gradually converged, one after another, golden-red fire trees bloomed and burned, silver-white waterfalls poured down, emerald green stars rotated and splashed, and ethereal blue halos spread layer by layer... Each massive explosion was like a heavy hammer striking the frozen air, creating continuous echoes across the vast wilderness.

The traffic on the nearby cross-river bridge also slowed down and looked sideways because of this display of fireworks.

Lin You and the other two, having each lit three boxes of fireworks, laughed as they sprinted back towards Wang Xiaoyi.

"Holy crap! Exciting! Hahahaha!"

"Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi! Happy New Year!"

The fireworks illuminated Wang Xiaoyi, who was looking up, slightly agape in awe, her eyes reflecting the sky full of fiery streams, as if experiencing a splendid dream.

She couldn't help but clasp her hands together, watching Lin You running towards her under the fireworks, and silently whispered in her heart—

Lin You and Wang Xiaoyi, together forever!